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rockfsh 
"Laugh, Love, Cheer"
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demonic 
"Cinemaniac"
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 Posted - 09/17/2010 : 01:36:25
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Videos aren't available in my country apparently. That's unfair.  |
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Sean 
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 09/17/2010 : 01:38:02
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Will watch this after I've seen it. Yep, I'm working my way through that "25 Most Disturbing Movies" list and can't stop at 24/25...  |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 09/22/2010 : 12:54:38
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OK I just watched The Human Centipede.
B-grade throughout. Villain is underwhelming. Once they've been 'joined' the girls spend the rest of the movie crying (or perhaps only one of them, it's hard to see as you can't see their mouths ). Characters do really stupid things to suit the plot. Sometimes very, very stupid things. It's full of clich�s except for the main premise.
I'd give this 5/10 but that includes a point for originality.
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Edited by - Sean on 06/07/2011 01:37:52 |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 06/07/2011 : 01:36:30
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The sequel is out, and it has been banned in the UK (only the 11th movie banned by the BBFC in it's 99-year history). Guess I'll have to see this one too then.  I make a point of watching banned movies out of principle.
Oh yeah, and there is a third part in the works... 
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Sludge 
"Charlie Don't Serf!"
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 06/15/2011 : 19:43:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
The sequel is out, and it has been banned in the UK (only the 11th movie banned by the BBFC in it's 99-year history). Guess I'll have to see this one too then. I make a point of watching banned movies out of principle.
Oh yeah, and there is a third part in the works...
Uhm - I don't think it's actually been banned, but it hasn't been awarded a certificate. That means it's not categorized, but it's not illegal to play it.
Below is the full press release sent to me by Eurkea's Head of Publicity:
quote:
Within the last week, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) announced that it had rejected and was unable to classify for release on DVD, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence).
Bounty Films, and its UK distribution partner Eureka Entertainment Ltd., are disappointed by the decision of the BBFC to deny the film a classification certificate. While both companies respect the authority of the board, we strongly disagree with their decision.
In support of their decision, the BBFC issued a press release that gave an unprecedented level of detail regarding certain scenes contained within the film. Whilst it appears customary for the BBFC to issue press releases in support of its decision making, the level of detail provided therein does seem inconsistent with previous releases where the statements have been more concise. We are concerned this may be prejudicial to our forthcoming appeal.
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is adult entertainment for fans of horror films. If a film of this nature does not seek to push boundaries, to challenge people and their value systems or to shock, then it is not horror. The subject matter of this film is in line with not only the genre, but other challenging entertainment choices for adult consumers.
We respect those who have different opinions about both the film and the genre, and whose opinions may differ to our own, but we hope that the opinions of the adults for whom this product is intended will also be considered. The adult consumers who would watch this film fully understand that it is fictional entertainment and nothing more.
Classifying and rating product allows the public to make an informed choice about the art and media they wish to consume. Censoring or preventing the public from obtaining material that has not been proven to be harmful or obscene, is indefensible in principle and is often counterproductive in practice. Through their chosen course of action, the BBFC have ensured that the awareness of this film is now greater than it would otherwise have been.
Having taken advice on these matters, and in accordance with BBFC guidelines, we will be submitting our appeal to the Video Appeals Committee in due course.
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 06/15/2011 : 23:13:00
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
Uhm - I don't think it's actually been banned, but it hasn't been awarded a certificate. That means it's not categorized, but it's not illegal to play it.
I guess we're talking about language usage here. My understanding is that as a result of the classification refusal, cinema/TV broadcast and DVD rental/sale etc are prohibited. That's what I mean by 'banned', i.e., there's a ban on circulation.
I guess the next step up would be material that results from criminal activity (e.g., child porn or animal torture etc).
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Edited by - Sean on 06/15/2011 23:14:02 |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/10/2011 : 11:32:49
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 OMG - Just received the DVD from distributor for Bafta assessment. If I don't report back by the w/e, call out the calvalry!!
Wish me luck, gang, I'm going in ... 
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 11/10/2011 : 14:18:39
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| Ah, I can hear it now - "And the Bafta goes to... Human Centipede 2! Yeeeeeaaaahhh!" |
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benj clews 
"...."
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Posted - 11/10/2011 : 14:38:10
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quote:
Originally posted by 12Babe
OMG - Just received the DVD from distributor for Bafta assessment. If I don't report back by the w/e, call out the calvalry!!
Wish me luck, gang, I'm going in ...
Saw this at the Frightfest all-nighter (those who follow me on twitter may even have seen me posing for a pic with the doctor from part 1) and had to say it really ain't that bad- in gore at least. The film isn't a massive step up from the first one but has a nice meta-idea to it (the first film being just that- a film, within this film) and is nicely shot in a dirty black and white. The whole thing has a surprisingly comic violence to it (people are beaten repeatedly about the head with a crowbar and yet appear fine a short while later) which makes it perhaps a little less grim than the first, believe it or not.
Still, if the first one turned your stomach, I'd certainly avoid this one (even if you're supposed to be reviewing it)- it's far more graphic in the steps taken to create the centipede. I truly dread to think what part 3 is going to bring. |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/11/2011 : 00:17:48
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
quote:
Originally posted by 12Babe
OMG - Just received the DVD from distributor for Bafta assessment. If I don't report back by the w/e, call out the calvalry!!
Wish me luck, gang, I'm going in ...
Saw this at the Frightfest all-nighter (those who follow me on twitter may even have seen me posing for a pic with the doctor from part 1) and had to say it really ain't that bad- in gore at least. The film isn't a massive step up from the first one but has a nice meta-idea to it (the first film being just that- a film, within this film) and is nicely shot in a dirty black and white. The whole thing has a surprisingly comic violence to it (people are beaten repeatedly about the head with a crowbar and yet appear fine a short while later) which makes it perhaps a little less grim than the first, believe it or not.
Still, if the first one turned your stomach, I'd certainly avoid this one (even if you're supposed to be reviewing it)- it's far more graphic in the steps taken to create the centipede. I truly dread to think what part 3 is going to bring.
Yep, there are definitely clues that Tom Six isn't just jumping on the Saw & clones torture-porn bandwagon. I'd say he's a spawn from some fantasy union between the Davids: Lynch & Cronenberg, with a dollop of Hieronymous Bosch on top.
When compared with James Wan's puerile butchering franchise, Six is on another planet. I don't want to ascribe undue profundity, but it's clear he's conceived his trilogy of disgust and morbid mania as a social metaphor. Wan is just after the shallow shock value.
Outstanding is Lawrence R. Harvey as the demented Martin. He almost comes across as someone who's never acted before - a perfect choice for the role. Except, of course, he's very experienced, albeit in non-mainstream theatre, and, if you can believe it, kids' t.v.
He plays a truly disturbed car park attendant who spies on people via his cctv monitors, and is obsessed with watching The Human Centipede on video. His subsequent acts of pure, quietly gleeful violence, while unforgiveable and completely abnormal, are at least explained by a lifetime of abuse. He's not only driven to the point where he must act out his fantasies, but has found in Six's first film the perfect trigger. While you never actually feel sorry for or empathize with Martin, Harvey does surprise with the childlike intensity of his illness.
benj is spot-on with his comment on the look of Six's film. It kept reminding me of Eraserhead - and it's interesting that the entire soundtrack of Centipede II pulsates with crying baby noises which supplement the feeble cries of the victims. There's also a whiff in the air -- deliberate I'm sure -- of some of the inane stagings used unwittingly by Ed Wood. This is especially true in those scenes that have the most dialogue, namely those in Martin's kitchen between him and his mother, and between him and a jokily bearded man who's supposed to be Martin's doctor.
All this taken together become Six's barrier between you and what's happening onscreen. He doesn't want you to be involved - as if you could be! That's one of the key differences between him and Wan. In the Saw films you're meant to identify with the victims. With Six, you're given only the most cursory knowledge of the victims. The focus is on behaviour, ultra strange behaviour; you watch it in the same way that Martin watches his captive giant centipede as it seeks escape, and ravages the insects which Martin feeds it.
It's not hard to draw convincing parallels about the way we're all more or less subjected to the whims, decision, and selfish gratifications of others. How relatively impotent we normally are to resist, but how we bravely keep trying to break free from the tethers of a society which offers so little choice.
I'm not saying Six is a great filmmaker, but he's an interesting one. I don't believe these first two installments of the Centipede trilogy wholly succeed either in filmmaking technique, or as social metaphor. But I think he's worth watching.
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 11/11/2011 : 01:03:14
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As ever, BB, you word it so much better than I ever could 
I do get the feeling there's a lot more going on and being said in this film than the first- that being essentially an insane doctor movie with intentional horror cliches thrown in (the girls' car breaking down in the middle of nowhere, the mobile phone not working, the whole "don't go into the cellar" thing, etc...) and, comparing the two now, the previous film feels to me positively sparse in substance. Certainly, at the screening I attended, one of the cast members suggested that the ending of part 2 implies the reality of what happens may not be quite what it seems, further backed up by the unrealistic violence I mentioned previously.
It seems a real shame to me that the media has taken such an instant dislike to this film (perhaps director Tom Six didn't do himself too many favours with a few scenes he decided needed to go in just to live up to his claim this would make the first one look like a Disney film). To make matters worse, here in the UK cinemas have largely shunned away from showing it, effectively guaranteeing the widely publicised low box office. I'm hoping those with a slightly more open mind (and strong stomach) will give this a chance when it hits DVD. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 11/11/2011 : 01:04:28
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| I'm guessing Tom Six is making these as he likes the subject matter. His favourite movies are La grande bouffe (1973), The Idiots (1998), Crash (1996) and Sal�, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975). While some of those are pretty decent movies, they have a focus on depravity, degradation, humiliation, bare-bottoms and poo. So does the Centipede series. |
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Human Centipede Review
